I have much greater diversification across asset classes and my retirement funds are not tied to my real estate ventures.IMHO, you should refrain from  borrowing from your 401(k).

As I said a decade ago and feel today, office and retail will continue to suffer in the years to come, therefore mixed-use with residential apartments provides diversification. 

Here are some basic pros and cons:Pros:Your capital often goes much much further in other markets, esp if you live in CA, NY, HI, or the Seattle/Tacoma area Getting comfortable with OOS investing really opens you up to greater diversification of your REI portfolio as you build it.

It has recovered nicely but that is something that may happen again.Note that the S&P500 in the past two years has been about 15% IRR so this is great for diversification and it may keep pace with the market in the long run but true full diversification is also important.Bottom line, as far as I am concerned, I would give a green light to Fundrise with the caveat of a reocmmendation to diversifying between multiple offerings (I like wide diversification for safety).

It's great for investors to have choices,  diversification by geography, niche and operator.Some of the most famous names you know in investment world do just that. 

It's diversification.

sounds like your friend went into massive debt.If your already liquid to that extent its about preservation .. return is great but number one is safety.a nice diversification of Notes  fixed assets  short term investments would be a nice thing to strive for

Buying below replacement costs is one layer of redundancy, large down payments to keep your payments low is another, large cash reserves, geographic diversification, other sources of income, etc. etc.  

Appreciate the response but my question was very specific - not about asset class exposure or portfolio diversification.

In regards to investing out of state, I would recommend to first find a location that has job/population growth, diversification of jobs, landlord/business friendly and familiarity with the area (I recommend TRUSTED boots on the ground).